AUTUMNAL EQUINOX • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Autumnal equinox

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/ɔtˈəmnəl ˈikwənˌɑks/ Listen

adjective

Autumnal adj.

Of, belonging to, or peculiar to, autumn; as, an autumnal tint; produced or gathered in autumn; as, autumnal fruits; flowering in autumn; as, an autumnal plant. "Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks In Vallombrosa."

Past the middle of life; in the third stage. "An autumnal matron."

Autumnal equinox, the time when the sun crosses the equator, as it proceeds southward, or when it passes the autumnal point.

Autumnal point, the point of the equator intersected by the ecliptic, as the sun proceeds southward; the first point of Libra.

Autumnal signs, the signs Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, through which the sun passes between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.

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Etymology of 'Autumnal equinox'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Autumnal equinox" Quotes from Famous Books

... season then prevails between those limits, no dust can consequently be taken up in those latitudes. But the same period is the dry season in the valley of the lower Orinoco, and the surface of that extensive region is in a favourable condition to give off dust; and at the time of the autumnal equinox, another part of the great Amazonian basin is parched with drought, on which Lieutenant Maury observes: 'May not, therefore, the whirlwinds which accompany the vernal equinox sweep over the lifeless plains of the lower Orinoco, take up the "rain-dust," ...

— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 432 - Volume 17, New Series, April 10, 1852 • Various

... with the death of Attalus the Third.[539] The Ephesians indeed even antedated this event, and adopted an era which commenced with the September of the year 134,[540] the reason for this anticipation being the usual Asiatic custom of beginning the civil year with the autumnal equinox. The real point of departure of this new era of Ephesus was either the death of Attalus or the victory of the city over the fleet of Aristonicus. But, though the work of organisation could be entered on at once, its completion was a long and laborious ...

— A History of Rome, Vol 1 - During the late Republic and early Principate • A H.J. Greenidge

... spring and autumn. When the Sun, on his journey northward, reaches the equator, we have the vernal equinox, and at this period of the year the days and nights are of equal length all over the globe. In a similar manner, when, on his return journey, the Sun is again on the equator, the autumnal equinox occurs. In summer the North Pole is inclined towards the Sun, consequently his rays fall more direct and impart much more heat to the northern hemisphere than in winter, when the Pole is turned ...

— The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' • Thomas Orchard

... vertically under the sun, which then declines to the south until the summer solstice (June 21), when it reaches its maximum south declination. It then moves northwards, passing vertically over the equator again at the autumnal equinox (September 21), and reaches its maximum northern declination on the winter solstice (December 21). The declination varies from about 24 degrees above to 24 degrees below the equator. The sun is nearest to the Southern Ocean, where the tides are generated, when it is in its southern ...

— The Sewerage of Sea Coast Towns • Henry C. Adams